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Julius Thomas
Julius Dewayne Thomas (born June 27, 1988) is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Broncos in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football and basketball at Portland State. Early Life and Education Thomas is the son of Greg and Toria Thomas. He has two brothers, Trenton and Marcus. Thomas graduated from Tokay High School in Lodi, California. Thomas graduated from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. College career Football Thomas was a First-team All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2010. He ended the season with 29 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns for Portland State's football team. Thomas had not played collegiate football prior to 2010. Basketball Thomas played four seasons for the Portland State basketball team. During his collegiate basketball career, Thomas set school records for career games played (121), career wins (78), and career field goals percentage (.663), and also participated on one Big Sky regular season championship team and two Big Sky tournament championship teams as well two NCAA Tournaments (2008 and 2009). He was twice named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team. As a senior, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and shot a school-record .671 from the field. Professional career Pre-draft Denver Broncos Thomas was taken in the 4th round, 129th overall, by the Denver Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft. His rookie contract was four years and $2,420,000 through the 2014 season. It included a $384,000 signing bonus. Thomas had only one catch through his first two years in the league as he battled various injuries before erupting onto the scene in 2013. He scored his first and second career touchdowns in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 5, 2013. He followed up this performance in week two with a 6 catch, 47 yard performance that ended with a game-sealing touchdown. In week three he continued his scoring streak against the Oakland Raiders (3 catches for 37 Yards and a TD). He ended the season with 12 touchdown receptions, the most by any Denver Broncos tight end. Thomas and the Broncos reached Super Bowl XLVIII where he had 4 receptions for 27 yards, but lost 43-8 to the Seattle Seahawks. In the first game of the 2014 season, the Broncos hosted the Indianapolis Colts. During that game, Thomas caught 3 1st half touchdown passes from quarterback Peyton Manning, tying former Bronco Shannon Sharpe's franchise record for the most touchdowns by a tight end in a single season game. The Broncos went on to win the game 31-24. On October 8, 2014 Thomas was fined $8,000 for a chop block on Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell. On October 12, against the New York Jets, Thomas caught two touchdowns, tying Calvin Johnson's record of 9 through the first 5 games of a season. Jacksonville Jaguars On March 10, 2015, Thomas signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.